


In the Dying Embers of the Earth

by Cumberbatch Critter (ivelostmyspectacles)



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Apocalypse, Developing Relationship, Discovery, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Goodbyes, Ichatrina, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Revealing the truth, Revelations, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ichabbie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2535587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivelostmyspectacles/pseuds/Cumberbatch%20Critter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The term ‘apocalypse’ means revelation, the reveal of a truth not yet known.</p><p>It's just fitting that Ichabod has his own personal apocalypse about the women in his life during the actual, <i>literal </i>Apocalypse.</p><p>[Katrina's in this, but I assure you it's Ichabbie. Very sweet Ichabbie.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Dying Embers of the Earth

"I am _not_ leaving you!" Ichabod yelled over the din, grabbing at Katrina's hands. "I will not lose you again!"

"Crane, we have to go!" Abbie yelled. "This place is disintegrating, if we stay here, we'll be taken right down with it!"

Ichabod looked pleadingly back at Katrina. He couldn't handle the pain of losing her again. Not after all this time, not after finding her again, after the war, and now facing the Apocalypse head on, he could _not_ lose her again. He wasn't sure if he could handle it this time.

"You must let go, Ichabod," Katrina replied. Her voice was like clarity in the uproar around them. Ichabod longed to lean into her touch, the sound of her voice, and the taste of his mouth against hers. But the moment was wrong; the world was ending were it not for their own part in this scheme. Being a Witness had led him and Abbie into Hell itself, a final showdown between Moloch and themselves, where Katrina was now resolute in the fact that she could not return to earth without some part of Moloch remaining. Ichabod didn't understand. There were so many things that he still did understand about his wife, but it wasn't ever a reason to let go. But now, she was telling him to.

"I can't," he retorted. His eyes stung with tears; he couldn't see Katrina's face clearly for the water in his eyes and he cursed his emotions, cursed this mission, and cursed their predestined lives. "I won't."

"You will, and you must," Katrina replied firmly. But then she smiled, that delicate smile that Ichabod had known for centuries. The one that graced his best dreams and haunted his worst nightmares, and Katrina reached up to press her hand against his cheek.

Ichabod closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He could refrain no longer. He felt his tears fall, and the pain building in his chest was startling close to becoming a sob.

"I have seen the way you look at her," Katrina said softly.

Ichabod's eyes flew open. Was she speaking of Abigail? "Katrina, I would never betray your honour," he started, but she shook her head slowly.

"I know you wouldn't, Ichabod," she said. Her smile was sad. Ichabod couldn't breathe. "I know. And I thank you for the devotion that you have held even through the most trying of years. One could not hope for a better partner in life."

"Then you must know-"

"You care for her. Abigail Mills," Katrina clarified.

Ichabod's heart was thundering in his chest, and not simply from the fear of the destruction that was surrounding them. He tried to think back. When had there been triggers, for Katrina to think this way? Had he behaved inappropriately during the times that he had been with Katrina and the Lieutenant at the same time? He couldn't recall. He could remember leaving Abbie in Purgatory. The departure had been most heart-wrenching for him. Or was it when Mary had threatened both Abbie and Katrina, and he had called for both of them? Were those strong enough indicators? For they must have been, given Katrina's line of speech.

"She is..." Ichabod trailed off. How did he describe Abbie? She was his most valued friend. His constant companion. The missing half of himself - the second Witness. Miss Mills, whom he had agonized hours over at the thought of presenting her soul to Moloch. The one person that he felt truly at home with ever since arriving in this strange, new world. His newfound family. "I do care for her," he settled on eventually. To say any different would be a lie of the most disrespectful type.

"I am honored to have once been your wife, my love," Katrina said softly. "But our vows remained until death do we part. For what both of us have experienced through your Tribulation, our vows have been broken. Do not hold onto me any longer, Ichabod. This is your new life... I want you to prosper on it and be untethered by bonds made long ago."

"I love you." It was important to say; it was true. He had never stopped loving her. He could not lie that there were... different elements to his life now, but he had _never_ once stopped loving her. If it were not for her, there were times where he would not have gone on.

... Except for Abigail. Because, for her, too, he would always find reason to face the sunrise in the morning.

"As I love you," Katrina replied.

She pressed her lips against his softly; Ichabod pressed into the kiss, spurred on by his war of emotions beneath the surface. His Witness work was finished. They had returned Moloch from whence he came and were prepared to trap him. He could easily choose to stay here with Katrina, even if it meant that they would burn in the fires of Hell forevermore. But he couldn't make that choice. Because-

"Crane!" Abbie yelled.

"You must not abandon her," Katrina said sternly, pulling away. "You must tell her your feelings. You must thrive, Ichabod. You must love again, for me as well as you." She looked over his shoulder; she was probably watching the Lieutenant. "I would rather you no one else in the world besides the one you look at so tenderly, my love."

"I'm sorry," Ichabod breathed, drawing her into his arms in a tight embrace. "I am so sorry, Katrina." She smelled like he remembered, like lavender and a hint of something woodsy, now overlaid by ash and smoke.

"Do not be sorry. Be happy." Katrina pulled away. "Now go."

Ichabod fell a step back, but he felt rooted in place. He was torn between the two people he loved most in this world. Were it at all possible, he would sacrifice himself to protect them both. But yet, he wouldn't sacrifice himself to stay with Katrina. He would not abandon Abigail like that.

Katrina was right. Of course she was right. She had been right all along, but Ichabod had kept it at bay. The emotions, the confusion, the turmoil. He had tucked it all away in favor of the End of Days. They were here now, and so his most private thoughts were given voice as well. And Katrina was right.

He loved her, but he had come to love Abigail, too.

And Katrina had told him _be happy_.

Abbie grabbed Ichabod's arm, startling him out of his thoughts. " _Ichabod!_ "

There was a resounding _pop_ ; all three of them ducked reflexively. Shards like glass cut through the air, leaving darkness in their wake and the reek of decay in the air. The smell of burning flesh and the cries of the souls eternally damned grew exponentially louder.

"Take him and go!" Katrina cried. "Keep him safe, Abigail."

"I will," Abbie replied. "I swear." Her grip tightened around Ichabod's arm. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. Katrina-"

"I know," Katrina replied, smiling wryly. "The world will remain a better place for the likes of both of you. When you return to earth, you will have but a few moments. After eighty-four hours, you will awaken again. The End of the Days will near completion. Due to your actions here, the outcome will be greatly changed to our favor. The world will survive, and you with it. Now go!"

Ichabod's mind was reeling with the information he was processing. Katrina, Abbie, and the Apocalypse that was nearing its final stage of completion. He prayed that they had done their duty to stop the mass exorcism. At the same time, he couldn't help but ache at the impending loss of what he would yet have to experience. He couldn't speak.

"Farewell, Ichabod. Take her hand and never it let go," Katrina said. "She is your grace. Do not forget."

Ichabod allowed Abbie to tug him from the spot he was rooted to. He staggered after her obediently, half led on by a drunken stupor of disbelief. He couldn't leave her, he couldn't let her die, not after everything, but he must, he had to leave her behind because he couldn't let Abbie to fight through the aftermath herself.

He opened his mouth to say _"I love you"_. When he blinked, he and Abbie were standing in the middle of Main Street in Sleepy Hollow.

Ichabod raised his head slightly, looking over Abbie's shoulder. There were people gawking at them, having just appeared out of nowhere, covered in blood and burns and ash. His lungs screamed. He felt like he was dying even though they were back on earth. His heart felt shattered, all but for the one piece still thumping strongly away under his fingers. He was holding Abbie's hands.

He sucked in breath and pulled Abbie into his arms, burying his face into her hair. She smelled entirely different to Katrina. Abbie smelled like vanilla with a hint of orange and ‘clear waters’, although Ichabod still couldn't describe the latter. He knew that was the scent of her shampoo. She was warm against his body and he held her impossibly close, drowning out the world, the pain, the suffering, the loss, and heartbreak. As long as he held Abbie close, none of it would matter.

She hugged him back just as tightly. He could barely even feel the pain of his broken ribs or his burning lungs beneath her warmth. He wanted to soak directly into it, but he settled on trying not to cry into her hair.

He didn't remember much after that. He remembered passing his thumb against the bare skin of her arm, and brushing his lips against the top of her head, but then there was nothing.

When he woke up three and a half days later, his first thought was _Abbie_.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write this for ages. I swear the Sleepyheads here on AO3 are going to get tired of seeing my pen name under the SH works. 
> 
> But, I digress. I don't want him to cheat on his wife. But I personally think she's going to end up sacrificing herself to save Ichabod and Abbie, and then the sweet fluffy relationship us Ichabbie shippers want so bad can blossom into something more. Please.
> 
> I do not own _Sleepy Hollow_. Thanks for reading!


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